1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a realistic fishing lure that can be used individually or tied in a series by anglers in order to entice predatory fish to bite the lure(s).
2. Description of the Related Art
With ever increasing numbers of ever more skilled fishermen attempting to catch fish in waters that see a lot of fishing pressure, lures need to closely duplicate the look, feel, action and sound of real baitfish in order to fool predatory fish that have seen, and been caught by, numerous lures. Today, many sport fishermen practice "Catch And Release" fishing, they release caught fish unharmed back into the water from which they were taken. This results in a very wary fish population that is conditioned and cautious about being fooled again by lures. Those fish that are harvested to be eaten or mounted as trophies add to this trend towards lure-shy fish populations since the more gullible fish are harvested and the cautious and/or conditioned fish remain in the water.
The "Soft Stick-bait" is one trend in fishing lures designed to help overcome the natural and learned cautiousness of predatory fish. Soft Stick-baits are elongated soft plastic lures that imitate the disorientated and erratic movement of a wounded or pursued baitfish. Short, sharp and erratic twitches of the fishing rod tip prompt this erratic movement, often triggering strikes by predatory gamefish.
Soft stick-baits are usually fairly featureless chunks of elongated soft plastic that do not look very much like the baitfish their actions are supposed to duplicate. The lure in U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,362 to Reed, has little resemblance to a baitfish in appearance.
The present invention is shaped much more like a baitfish than other soft stick-baits, while still retaining the unpredictable and erratic action that are part of a stick-bait's characteristics. In addition to its more realistic overall shape and silhouette, the present invention has a dorsal fin, a thin tail and molded details such as eye sockets and gill plates. The eye sockets accept very realistic moving doll eyes that rattle when the lure is moved. The belly of the lure has a slot where the hook sits out of view of the fish, adding to the lure's natural appearance. The point of the hook is hidden by the split V-shaped dorsal fin where it is protected from weeds while being in perfect position to strike when a fish bites the lure.
Real baitfish usually travel in schools. A school of fleeing, frantic and disoriented baitfish creates even more aggression in predatory fish than an individual baitfish. Predatory fish have a chance to consume a larger meal when they attack a school of baitfish. If there are multiple predatory fish in the same area, competition between the predators for the disorientated prey can be fierce. One predatory fish will often try to grab prey from the mouth of another fish predator.
Artificially duplicating a school of disoriented and frantic baitfish should increase the chances for successful strikes from predatory fish. One soft plastic lure, the "3 in A Row" made by the Fred Ward Lure Company attempts to duplicate a small school of baitfish by creating a long lure with the design of three baitfish printed on the lure. The "3 In A Row" is in fact only a single lure, so the three printed baitfish on the lure can not move with any significant degree of independence. The "3 In A Row" uses a single hook.
The present invention can string together several duplicate lures by common fishing line, each lure with its own hook. This creates the appearance of a school of realistic looking and acting baitfish, all controlled by one fishing pole but each free to move erratically due to the flexibility of the fishing line connections. Since each of the present invention's lures in the school has its own hook, it is very possible to catch more than one predatory fish at one time.